Introducing Edinburgh 24, a 24-hour loop race situated in the iconic Royal Holyrood Park. Over a 24-hour period, challengers will complete as many laps of the looped route as physically possible. Spiralling below the rocky summit of Arthur’s Seat, the course offers a varied elevation profile guaranteed to keep runners on their toes. The nine categories provide something suitable for all abilities. Choose to enter the full 24-hour race, the 12-hour version, or the 6-hour version. Participants can enter as an individual or a team of four – the latter involve tapping in team mates, allowing for some down time in-between running stints. As you run through the oasis of parkland in the City Centre, you will catch spectacular glimpses of Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile and Old Town, as well as the distant Pentland Hills and Firth of Forth at different hours of the day. At the core of the route will be the round-the-clock Edinburgh 24 event village, where refreshments will be available and spectator support will be warmly encouraged!

The 24-Hour Event

Individual

Saturday 13th July 2019 –
0900 HRSThe most mentally and physically challenging of them all. Admire the round-the-clock sights of Edinburgh as you see how many loops you can complete going solo in 24 hours.

The 12-Hour Event

Individual

Saturday 13th July 2019 –
0900 HRS Want to brave it alone, but not quite ready for the full 24 hours? Admire the sights of Edinburgh through the day as you see how many loops you can complete going solo in 12 hours, finishing just in time for a well earned evening beer!

Team

Saturday 13th July 2019 –
0900 HRS Take the full day team challenge.
Ideal for friends, corporates and charities. Tap each other in and see how many loops you can complete together in 12 hours. Get in ouch if you need more runners to make up your team.

Edinburgh 24

Holyrood ParkQueen’s Drive EdinburghEH8 8HG

Event Info

Date

The event will start on Saturday 13th July, and finish 24-hours later on Sunday 14th July 2018.

Venue

The event will take place in the Royal Holyrood Park, situated in the heart of Edinburgh city centre. The event village will be located on the playing fields beside Holyrood Palace, just off Queen’s Drive.

Registration

Registration for the race will take place in the event village located on the playing fields beside Holyrood Palace, just off Queen’s Drive.

Time

The event will start at 9am for the 24 HR and 12 HR races, and finish either 12 or 24 hours later, depending which race duration you enter. The 6 HR version will start at 12pm and finish at 6pm.

Parking

Parking will be available for participants entering the full 24-hour race only (see FAQ 3 for details). Your vehicle may be used as your ‘base camp’ (see FAQ 19 for details). Edinburgh offers excellent public transport, with Edinburgh Waverley Train Station just a 10 minute walk to the event village, as well as great bus links (visit Lothian Buses website).

Event Village

At the base of the looped route with be a vibrant event village, offering refreshments, catering vans, water stations, a bag-drop system and more (see FAQ 19 for more details). We encourage spectators to come along and support the event, although support teams will not be permitted as this is an unsupported event.

Routes

Goody Bag

Everyone loves a goody bag and we’re no different. Medal, t-shirt & a selection of other nice stuff.

Race Rules

Race Pack

All runners will be sent a race pack approximately 4 weeks prior to the event. You must read all of the up-to-date information provided.

Race Briefing

Your presence during the race briefing is essential for your safety and enjoyment, and is therefore mandatory. The 24-hour and 12-hour race briefing will take place at 8:15am, the 6-hour race briefing will take place at 11:15am (45 minutes prior to start times).

Race Numbers

Race numbers are to be collected on the morning of the event. Details will be sent out with your race pack in the lead up to the event.

Mandatory Kit

A mobile phone (to call the Race Director in case of emergency), a foil blanket, a waterproof skin. 24-HR runners must bring a head-torch for the hours of darkness.

Noise Levels

We are very lucky to have been granted permission to run an event in the Royal Holyrood Park in Edinburgh’s city centre. Please limit noise levels between the hours of 11pm and 7am to abide by the law and respect local residents.

Don't be a Litter Bug

Breaking Strain Events operate a “take only photographs, leave only footprints” policy. Please use the bins provided and do not leave any traces of litter behind.

No Dogs

Runners are not permitted to run with dogs, please leave your furry friends at home.

Support Crew

While pacers aren’t allowed you can have a support crew based at the event parking.

Music

We understanding that you may need some tunes for motivation, and you are welcome to use headphones. However, please be aware of other runners and marshals who may be trying to pass you by or communicate with you. Our advice, one earphone is better than none!

Obey Instructions

Our team of staff and volunteers are here for your safety and enjoyment, please obey their instructions. Under any circumstance, the decision of the Race Director regarding the race, results or the safety of any runner is final.

Volunteer For Us

Volunteer at one of our events and we’ll give you a free entry to another Breaking Strain Events’ race. As a thank you, we’ll also give you a crew garment, a goody bag, tea or coffees and a meal. Limited places available.

Parking will be available for participants entering the full 24-hour race only. Your vehicle may be used as ‘base camp’ here, see FAQ 19 for details. These parking spaces will be limited to one per individual, pair or team. A parking permit will be sent with the race packs in the lead up to the event. Unfortunately, no parking will be available in the park for 12-hour and 6-hour entrants due to restricted space in a city centre venue. Edinburgh offers excellent public transport, with Edinburgh Waverley Train Station just a 10 minute walk to the event village, as well as great bus links (visit Lothian Buses website).

Race entry, a risk assessed route, timing, live results, a drop bag system, first aid cover, vehicle parking, friendly, experienced staff and volunteers. Finishers of the race will also receive an awesome goody bag, race t-shirt and a medal. An epic day out.

No. This creates an unnecessary amount of admin for the BSE team especially close to race day. There are options to transfer your place to another runner (before the cut-off date 30 days before the race) or receive a refund.

Yes, provided that this is done before the cut off date 30 days before the event. The reason we don’t allow this after this date is that it creates an unnecessary amount of administration for the BSE team and our timing team.

If you are an individual, your category can be changed directly, but must comply with the conditions stated below. If you are a pair or team, you must either change category collectively, or purchase any required additional places and fill any missing team places (for example if one runner in a team wishes to run as an individual, they must purchase an individual place and the team must find a replacement). There will be an additional charge (the cost difference between the categories) if moving up race duration, however no refunds will be available if moving down race duration as this creates admin work for the BSE team. All changes must be arranged prior to the cut off date 30 days before the event.

Yes. Teams must enter as a group of four to ensure fair competition against other teams. If you are struggling to find additional runners to make up your team of four, get in touch with the BSE team and we’ll do our best to help you find your missing members.

In this occurrence, contact the BSE team as soon as you are aware of any necessary drop outs and we will do our best to find you a replacement runner. If we can’t find you a replacement, you can either opt for a full refund (so long as this is processed prior to 30 days before the event) or take part as a team of three – in this case you will only be able to take part for fun and your team’s timing will not be qualified as a race competitor. We like to keep things consistent and fair between teams.

Yes, we can offer bundles of any number of tickets. These will be charged at the face value of the ticket. We won’t add a ‘charity tax’ where charities have to pay through the roof to guarantee their entry. We like to support charities, not shaft them. It’s a terrible business model and unethical as hell. We also offer charity packages with additional benefits, get in touch to find out more.

Absolutely. BSE was conceived on the back of a long history of charity fundraising and to-date our events have raised almost £1 million. In 2017 we had over 20 different charities represented at our Run the Blades event. There are two ways of running for charity: sign up and then run for your chosen charity or in some cases charities have bought bundles of tickets in advance and will be advertising them on their own website.

The route spirals on the road below the rocky summit of Arthur’s seat. The elevation profile varies with challenging inclines and declines, and each loop of the route is just over 5K (or 3 miles). There is no trail on this event due to restrictions in a Royal park. A trail route would cause an unacceptable level of erosion, and at BSE we work towards maintaining environmental sustainability, not ruining it.

The event village will have water stations, plenty of toilets (or portaloos – let’s not glamorise anything here), refreshments (including boiling water for your pot noodles etc.), catering vans and limited ‘base camp’ spots. We’re not talking about camping in its true sense here (i.e. pitching tents), we’re talking about a designated zone to park your vehicle and use it as ‘base’ to change, freshen up and store supplies – just like a triathlon transition set up. The ‘base camp’ spots will be limited to one per individual, pair or team for the 24-hour race only and will be controlled by assigned parking permits. 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour participants will all have access to a drop bag system within the event village. The use of gas stoves is strictly prohibited on site, but we’ll provide boiling water, so it saves you from the faff anyway.